Defection
by Nick-kun
Summary: [MÄR] He and his friends were called to there dream world. Two years have passed since they have been torn apart, and still, he will do anything to save them. Story 1 of a 3 part series. T for alcohol references, blood, and language
1. Chapter 1

A young man walked out of the bar with blood on his hand. The man was tall, and wore a long blue cloak that almost touched the floor. Winny stared at the bishop indignantly, but his black mask denied any presence of humanity. The man's ÄRM's were all rings on his left hand, scratch the two bracelets ÄRM's and the hidden necklace.

"I wish you wouldn't be so violent." Winny sighed. She had short black hair that traveled a little past her shoulders but stopped there. The absence of her pawn mask made it obvious that she was a rook, but also that she was beautiful, as her sparkling blue eyes lit up her slightly tanned face. She had a bracelet and a ring ÄRM on her left arm, and a chain that hung from the folds of her pink flowered kimono.

"When you become like I have, human life holds no value." The man snapped at her. When he talked like that, it became painfully obvious that he was at least a foot taller than Winny. "_Peanut-chan._"

"DAMMIT I TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!" Winny ran to the man and started punching the air in front of her, only to be held back by the man's gloved palm on her head.

"I apologize." The man said as he let her go. He wiped the blood stained hand on his cloak and his mask seemed to have formed a smile.

"You're really mean Nick-kun…" She said with a frown. "You should respect your elders…"

"I'm only sixteen and I'm taller than you!" Nick started dancing and his mask started to make several emotions ranging from happiness to cockiness.

"That mask is creepy." Winny sighed as she started sulking about how short she was for nineteen.

---

"I found it…" Nick said as they stopped in front of a house, it was a small, run down cabin that looked like it hadn't been used in at least a year. It had a stone chimney coming out of a stone roof that was made more presentable with some straw. It had a stone body and had a chipped and broken wooden door. "Home…"

"This is your old home Nick-kun?" Winny asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Technically it's not mine, it's a friend's house. But she died a long time ago, and this is where I lived for the most part until I joined the Chess Pieces." Nick frown showed visibly on the mask with white lines as he walked through the splintered front door. Winny walked up and kicked the door down.

"Filthy place." Winny scolded.

"Winny, if you desecrate this place," Nick looked to her with an evil look printed on the mask. "I will kill you."

Winny gulped, Nick never used her real name. EVER. He meant what he said, and he always made sure he did well on his word anyways. "Sorry Nick-sama." Winny said, trying desperately to suck up to the bishop.

"Whatever just don't do it again Peanut-chan." Nick said as he rummaged through a few drawers. He paused for a moment, until he tried another set of drawers.

"Nick-sama?"

"It's not here."

"What isn't Nick-sama?"

"It isn't here god damn it!" Nick smashed his hand into the counter and it smashed into a dozen pieces. "Catherine-chan isn't here anymore!"

"Catherine-chan?" Winny said confusingly.

"It's a guardian ÄRM I won from a Cross Guard member. I kept it here so I would never lose it. But it's gone!" Nick howled as he punched the drawers, they shattered under the strike and Nick's hand went through the stonewall.

"What's so important about it Nick-dono?" Winny asked innocently.

"We're going." Nick held up his hand. "Dimension ÄRM: Andarta!" Nick yelled, Winny and him suddenly were driven from their surroundings and found themselves in the Chess Pieces hall.

"Nick-kun?" A voice came from beyond the corridor. Nick trotted off in a light stomp that made the ground shake slightly.

"Phantom-sama! When are we starting the Wa-?" Nick was yelling questions as he stomped off. Leaving Winny to wonder about her partners past, and who Catherine really was.

---

David chugged his juice as fast as he could, chants of his fellow Cross Guard members could be heard everywhere. These were happy times, the Chess Pieces starting a game instead of actual war? It would be easier for everyone, and David truly appreciated not having to fight for days on end.

"David! Someone's here to see you!" Emily sang from the door, she was a tall woman in her late twenties, but dressed like she was still a teenager. She wore a white tank top that showed off her chest, and pants that stopped at her knees. Her long jet-black hair stopped half way down her back and covered her eyes, which gave her the impression of being sober. Even though David knew from experience that she was never sober during a party. David put on his uniform and walked out of the room. His armor suit made him feel whole for some reason, and people had told him that it showed off his brown hair and eyes, so he wore it on all occasions.

"Hello, _David._" The voice rang through David's head. The hateful tone being conveyed perfectly, in front of him was a teenager about two years older than him, he had bushy red hair that came down to his shoulders, and covered his eyes. He wore an undershirt and blue pants that made him look buffer than most sixteen year olds do. (Even at six feet tall.)

"Do I know you?" David asked carefully.

"I'm not supposed to do anything until the war games, but I want you to know." The boy looked down on the fourteen year old, his voice was deep and unbecoming of a teenager. "I know you stole Sam's Catherine-chan." The boy's dark brown eyes gazed at him with killer intent; his magical power skyrocketed at that moment, making him seem omnipotent. "And let Emily know that I'm coming after both of you."

"N-Nick!" David yelled, he slammed against the door and pushed it open. He closed it quickly on Nick and breathed heavily until he was sure the bishop was gone.

He wouldn't like this War Game, not one bit.

---

"Knight? Already?" Nick said as he got his robe on, Phantom smiled and nodded his head.

"I saw that magical power, and with your ÄRM's, there is no doubt the queen will make you a knight."

"Thank you very much Phantom-san." Nick smiled as he put his mask on. "But even though I'm a knight, I'm still wearing this."

"Your own personal source of hiding from shame?" Phantom smiled wickedly. He raised his hand and an ÄRM on it glowed. "Regardless, I should like to 'baptize' you as Rolan calls it."

"No." Nick stated firmly. Phantom tilted his head. "I don't want to live continuously."

"Really? You prefer to be able to die?" Phantom's eyes widened.

"No disrespect Phantom-san. But you aren't well-cultured in the true nature of pain." Nick's eyes were shown through the mask, they held a sort of hurt in them that confused Phantom. "When you are, you will appreciate the fact that you can… and will die."

---

Phantom nodded his head. "Very well Nick-kun." He raised the ÄRM to eye level. "I will send you and Winny to train for a period of 30 days, approximately 12 hours in the real world."

"Do I have to fight him?" Winny pleaded.

"Hush Peanut-chan. If you still wish to serve under me then you have to be strong enough to hold your own against at least bishop level Cross Guard members." Nick stated without looking at the diminutive black haired girl.

"Dimension ÄRM: Gate of Training!" The ÄRM Glowed and Winny looked down to see a door open below them.

'_Thirty days of fighting him? I'll die for sure.'_

---

"Damn it Peanut-chan." Nick said as he pulled out a small winged locket from under his robe. "Holy ÄRM: Healing Angel." The wounds on Winny healed immediately and Nick stood up with a scowl on his mask. "Ok new rules, since you suck at hand to hand in every way shape and form. We're going back to ÄRM's" Nick took off his mask and frowned.

"Oh my god." Winny gasped. Nick smirked. "YOU'RE BUTT UGLY!"

"DON'T JUDGE ME BY MY FRECKLES AND HAIR YOU LITTLE!" Nick started cussing and hitting Winny on the head.

"I WAS KIDDING OW OW OW!" She yelled, Nick sighed and took his robe off, leaving him in his undershirt and pants. Winny blushed a little and took a defensive step back.

"Ok, if you can land anything more than a flesh wound on me. I'll… um…" Nick thought for a second.

"Buy me a new ÄRM?" Winny jumped up and down excitedly.

"Well, sure I could get you a nature ÄRM to increase your strength, make you better with hand to hand." Nick smiled.

"HELL NO!" Winny yelled. "I want an awesome ÄRM! Nicky-kun! Won't you buy me an awesome ÄRM?" She rubbed up against the sixteen year old flirtatiously.

"Aren't you a little old to be hitting on minors?"

"No one will know since you're a half a foot taller than me." Winny mumbled ruefully.

"Fine, if you can hurt me, I will scare some poor store owner into giving you a good ÄRM, one of your choice of course." Nick rolled his eyes. Winny smiled and jumped up and down in elation.

"Thank you Nicky-kun!" She hugged him and then jumped back a few feet. "Weapon ÄRM: Rose Rapier!" The chain on the folds of her kimono materialized into a sword in her hand, the handle was leather with a small circle at the bottom, the hilt had a rose in the middle with two circles at the end of the hilt; and the blade was straight and had several thorns coming out of it from all directions.

"Yeah whatever." Nick frowned and touched the bracelet on his left wrist. "Weapon ÄRM: Dream Staff!" The bracelet straightened and turned into a small baton in Nick's right hand. Winny sweat dropped and her jaw went slack.

"Uh…" The staff extended until it was at five foot nine. "Oh I see now, it extends." Winny smiled and charged with her sword, Nick blocked the strike easily and shook his head.

"You expect too little of me." Nick spun around Winny, keeping his staff in place. Suddenly, Winny felt a sharp pang in her side, and she went careening into a stone pillar. Winny opened her eyes after she got situated to see Nick with two sword-sized staffs in his hand.

"It multiplies too." She moaned as she leaned on her sword. She raised her right hand. "Nature ÄRM: Overgrown Meadow!" She yelled as the bracelet on her arm started to glow. Suddenly, trees and flowers shot up from the ground violently. Nick jumped high into the air to see a newly formed jungle in front of him.

"You don't know who your dealing with do you?" Nick smiled, the ring on his pinky started to glow and he raised it. "Nature ÄRM: Battle Crater!" Immediately, the entire jungle disappeared into a newly formed ditch, it collapsed over itself and several giant flowers tried to eat their way through.

"Damn it no biting!" Winny yelled as the forest disappeared back to her arm. She frowned and raised her hand, the ring on her index finger glowed. "Dimension ÄRM: Spectral Sphere!" She yelled, her body seemed to ripple for a moment, then disappear suddenly in a ball of light. Nick turned around to see the ball of light turn back into Winny in time enough to block the attack with her sword.

"You have thirty more days to do this, then we have to siege another town for the War Games arena." Nick smirked as they floated to the ground slowly. "Do you think you'll be of any use by then?"

"Shut up Nick." Winny's eyes lost their light and became cold. "I'll make sure you leave you in the dust when we get there."


	2. Chapter 2

Winny thrust her sword into what was now empty space. She back flipped to avoid Nick's staff and continued to slash at him.

'_I can see his movements…not perfectly…but I can see them.' _Winny smiled and looked at Nick's smirking face. _'God, why is he always smiling at me like that?'_

'_She's getting better. She reminds me of Catherine-chan.'_ Nick smiled and spun around Winny, who spun in turn and blocked the stab at her side. Nick used the time to jump over Winny and multiply the Dream Staff, throwing the second staff at the nineteen year old. _'Except Catherine-chan wasn't so annoying.'_

"Rose Rapier Version 2!" Winny smirked. _'This will wipe the smile off his face'_ "Rose Chain!" The sword glowed for a split second and then the blade dispersed into several parts, connected by a chain. Winny kicked the staff aside and swung her sword, the chain flew towards Nick with unparallel speed and Nick gulped for a moment. Winny smiled, he had him where he wanted him.

"That's it?" Nick said as he sighed. "God I'm thirsty." Winny's vein bulged and she started cursing at Nick. The chain went loose for a second and Nick spotted his chance, he shot down to Winny and held up his hand. "Weapon ÄRM: Daimonji!"

Nick ended up behind Winny. Her eyes grew wide as he put a giant five bladed shuriken to her throat. The Dream Staff disappeared and returned to his wrist.

"You…" Winny started.

"When you're angry, you lose concentration, when you lose concentration, your ÄRM fails." Nick's eyes narrowed. "And when your ÄRM fails. You _die_." Winny gulped. The shuriken disappeared and Nick patted his butt, getting rid of the dust he thought was there. "Anyways, I'm happy about the progress you've made, in only a few days you have the magical power of a bishop. If we just work on your concentration and synchronization, we could get you promoted."

"Twenty six days to go…" Winny grimaced. "God has a sick sense of humor."

"C'mon, I'm not that bad. I see you eyeing me whenever I take a bath, so obviously enjoy my company." Nick grinned as he took off his undershirt, showing off some faint abs and slightly toned muscles.

"Kind of hard to resist when we bath in the same pool." Winny blushed and looked away. "That, and I'm not used to being around boys…"

"That explains why you're attracted to this hunk of flab." Nick patted his stomach. "The only reason there's any kind of six pack there is because I train a lot." Nick smiled with his teeth, pushing his orange hair out of his eyes. "But I like it better when I eat whatever the hell I want so I don't mind the gut."

"Can we change the subject?" Winny blushed.

"Um ok… did your boobs get bigger?" Nick said as he closed in on her breast, she turned a bright red and stormed off in the opposite direction.

"No dinner for you!" She yelled, Nick laughed and followed her.

"I'm just kidding, no wait… I'm not…" Nick laughed again. "You should take that as a compliment though!"

---

"I'm thinking another dimension ÄRM." Winny said slowly as she sank into the water.

"No, your current one suits your fighting style well." Nick said as he followed suit. "And since you're against Nature ÄRM that's out."

"I don't need another Weapon ÄRM." Winny sighed. Even though she was light years away from harming the knight in front of her. It was still good to think he would buy her an ÄRM if she did. "A Darkness ÄRM?"

"If you feel you need the extra boost, you'll have to choose carefully though." Nick pointed to a ring on top of his shirt from the other end of the short pool. "Mine doesn't compliment me at all, it simply buys me time to recuperate be I injured in battle." Nick sighed. "That and it has a pretty stupid price to pay."

"Really? And what's that?" Winny asked curiously. Nick sighed at the question and looked to the side.

"It sends the victim on a frenzy, on everyone but me. Distracts all his teammates while I heal myself." Nick pointed to his face. "But every time I use it I end up looking like an animal more and more, and for longer periods of time."

"Is that why you wear your mask most of the time?" Winny asked as she studied his face from the ten-yard distance.

"Actually that was only about twenty percent of the reason. My mask and me have an interesting back story." Nick smiled. "But you're never gonna hear it!" He stuck his tongue out. Winny huffed and looked off to the side as he did.

"Hey Nick-kun?" Winny asked coyly. Nick's ears twitched and he mumbled in acknowledgement. "Why did you join the Chess Pieces?"

"Winny-chan…" Nick hesitated for a moment. "I've never told anyone that, not even Phantom-san." Nick looked over to her. "What's makes you think I'll tell you?"

Winny swam over to Nick; she sat next to him and put her head on his shoulder. "Because I'm your loveable partner silly Nicky-kun!" She smiled and Nick turned to look at her.

"Pea-"

"_Winny_ you motherfuc-" She started as she took her head off of Nick's shoulder.

Nick corrected himself. "_Winny_-chan." He said in an annoyed tone. "I joined the Chess Pieces…"

"Yeeeeees?" Winny said as she leaned in.

"Because…"

"Yeessss?"

"I would see cute girls three years older than me stand up in a hot spring and leave their boobs hanging out for me to see." Nick stuck his tongue out as he pointed to Winny, she noticed that she _had_ stood up and her breasts _were_ in plain sight. She yelped and dove back into the water.

"Pervert." She muttered. _'Does he really think I'm cute?'_

"Moron…" Nick retorted. He smiled and patted her on the head. "I'll tell you why I joined the Chess as a bonus when you win our bet ok?"

---

Winny cracked her eyes open. From her little sleeping spot she could hear grunting and several trees falling. She shot up and looked over to the disturbance. She saw Nick, in his usual garb, chopping down trees with his Dream Staff in one hand and Daimonji in the other.

'_Damn, he really does train a lot.'_ Winny thought. She got up and rubbed her eyes. She walked over to Nick and barely dodged a tree falling her way. "God damn it there are civilians around!"

Nick stopped and looked over to her. "Oh sorry Winny-chan." He muttered. "I had a bad dream so I woke up to do some training." Winny sighed and walked over to him.

"What was the dream about?" She asked sleepily as she leaned on a tree.

"Oh well, since _your_ asking." Nick said sarcastically. "There was an army of nosy girls trying to poke me with these staffs that said ANNOYING on them and were trying to ask me questions about my dr-."

"Ok ok, I get it asswipe, it's none of my business." She mumbled as she walked away. As she got back to her sleeping area, she heard more trees falling and grunting, but after a while, she heard something different.

She thought she heard crying.

---

Nick tripped over a rock. "Wahhhhhh!" He fell to the ground and Winny smirked, she thrust her sword into Nick's side and smiled.

"I WIN THE BET!" She yelled, Nick got up and started yelling about how it didn't count and how she cheated. "Loser…"

"Shut up," Nick's vein was bulging and he had half a mind to throw the rock at her. "Oh well… You did technically win the bet and I am a man of my word." Nick sighed. "_And_ you about bishop level already. So I guess I'll get you an ÄRM when we get back. Which should be some time tomorrow."

"YAY! Thank you Nicky-kun!" Winny hugged Nick around the waist (Since that was the easiest place for her to reach.) and smiled. Nick sighed and looked sadly at the smaller girl.

'_Now she's reminding me of Kira-hime.'_ Nick frowned. _'What's with this girl? It's like she knew everyone close to me before I joined the Chess.'_

"Wait, that means you also have to tell me why you joined the Chess!" Winny yelled as she let go of Nick. Nick sighed and motioned to her to follow him.

"I need to take a bath, come on." Nick mumbled as he took off his undershirt. When they reached the hot spring, both of them stripped and entered, Nick sat down with Winny right in front of him.

"Ok, so tell me." Winny said with interest in her eyes.

Nick sighed and pulled a beer bottle out of seemingly nowhere. He almost took a drink when he looked at Winny. "You want some Winny-chan?"

"You're underage!" She yelled. Nick shrugged and took a gulp. When he drank the whole bottle, he sighed in quiet content and looked to Winny.

"Ok Winny-channnn." He said in a cute voice. "The reason I joined the Chess Pieces is due to a long and very interesting story." Nick's eyes narrowed. "It all started when I was in my world one day."

"Woah, back up." Winny said. "Can you elaborate on the _your_ world part?"

"Somebody summoned me to MÄR from my world." Nick said in a 'well duh' fashion. "Anyways, I came here with me, my girlfriend Kira-hime, and my other friend Robert…" Nick started to look less and less drunk as he continued the story.

"Kira…hime?" Winny asked. Nick started swooning and laughing.

"She's such a beautiful woman! What a lucky man I was to have a wonderful girlfriend!" He laughed as he continued to describe Kira to Winny. Who sweat dropped and sighed at her drunken teammate. "Anyways, we met a young girl called Samantha, who had a younger sister named Catherine." Winny's memory shot back to when Nick was looking for an ÄRM.

"Nick-kun? Is that the ÄRM you were looking for?" She asked, Nick frowned and patted her head.

"Let me finish the story Winny-chan!" Nick yelled. "Anyways, at this point the Chess Pieces was just formed, so me and everyone else joined the Cross Guard."

"Say WHAT?" Winny yelled as she stood up. Nick blushed a little and laughed.

"Heh, you have a nice body." Nick said as he held her hips from a distance, Winny blushed intensely and slapped Nick across the face.

"PERVERT!" She yelled as she sat down again.

"So we joined the Cross Guard and fought against the Chess, until one day I came across a man who had the Darkness ÄRM I have today. He used it against all of my friends and I was the only one who was left sane. I was 'saved' by another Cross Guard member who disposed of the others." Nick smiled and rubbed his head. "And then I joined the chess."

"That doesn't explain why you were looking for Catherine then." Winny said with more curiousity filling her voice.

"Ah ah ah. One win, one story…" Nick scolded. "Unless you have another idea, Winny-chan." Nick smiled perversely.

"NO MORE BEER FOR YOU!" Winny yelled as she slapped Nick across the face again.

---

Phantom waited patently, having Peta to play Chess with him made waiting much easier. Phantom stopped the game suddenly to see Nick and Winny come out of the door. All four of the Chess Pieces smiled to each other.

"Nick-kun, nice to see you've been training as well." Phantom looked at the noticeable amount of magical power coming from Nick's body.

"What about me?" Winny yelled with tears in her eyes.

"Sorry Winny-chan." Phantom smiled. "You've improved too, I believe you are at higher bishop rank."

"Thanks to Mr. Perverted Slave Driver here." At this Phantom looked questionably at Nick, who started waving his arms and whining to Winny.

"I was drunk!"

"You did the same thing when you were sober!"

"I was drunk then too!" Nick lied.

"You filthy liar!"

"Shut up and let's go get your ÄRM." Nick dragged Winny away. "Good bye Phantom-san." He said happily as he dragged her out of the hall.

---

"Ohh ohh! What about that one?" Winny pointed to the ÄRM in the window. It looked like a whip and was split into three pieces for a chain.

"No, that one sucks." Nick said. He tugged at the shirt Winny made him put on, it was a normal white shirt, but it made him feel itchy. "Do I have to wear a shirt?"

"If girls start swooning over your body we'll never get this done." Winny said with a huff. Nick's face turned red and he smiled. He ripped the shirt off and ran into the town square.

"Here I come girls!" Nick yelled. Winny yelled and pulled Nick back.

"To hell you do! We're getting my ÄRM and that's that!" Winny dragged him into a store. Looking around, she found a necklace in a showcase, it had a white crystal that was being held by a black dragon, it's arms and tail winding around it. "That one!"

"Oh hi there sir!" The storekeeper walked over to Nick, who was getting up from being dragged. "Are you buying an ÄRM for your little girl here?" Nick burst out laughing as Winny punched the man in the face.

"I'M THREE YEARS OLDER THAN HIM YOU RETARD!" The storekeeper dragged his bruised body to the case and took out the necklace ÄRM.

"Darkness ÄRM: Soul Chamber." He said happily as he rubbed his face. "It traps your opponent's soul in the necklace and leaves his or her body helpless. The downside is that you cannot use any other ÄRM's while this is active and if you kill an opponent's body, the soul will stay in the ÄRM until you either set the soul free or break the ÄRM. There have also been cases of the soul merging with the user." Winny jumped happily and tugged at Nick.

"I want it Nicky-kun!" She yelled.

"Stop calling me that you little…" Winny's eyes became big and filled with tears. "Ok fine! God!" Nick's eyes narrowed. "Weapon ÄRM: Daimonji!" The ring turned into a five bladed shuriken and he held it up to the shop keep.

"What the?" The shop keep yelled.

"Under the demands of my partner Winny-chan of the Chess Pieces. I am taking this ÄRM."

"Chess?" The man yelled as he raised his hand. "Dimension ÄRM: Siren!" He yelled, Nick cursed and shoved the blade into the man's throat.

"Damn, too late, he already sent the message. Chess will be here in a matter of minutes." Nick sighed. Then his eyes filled with pleasure, he raised his hand and a robe and mask appeared in his hands. He put them both on and his mask smiled at Winny. "Winny-chan, go get me a few rooks. I want to have some fun."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Changed my pen name, deal with it :P**

Nick stood in front of the rag tag Cross Guard unit. His mask smirked and he raised his hand.

"Ok, who here has gotten laid?" Nick asked. Most of the men raised their hands questionable, all of them over twenty. "Ok good, will all the men who are still virgins please attack some of my comrades."

"What the hell?" Winny yelled. "Nick-teme! What is that for?" She yelled as she materialized with an army of rooks.

"I refuse to kill children and virgins. It's just so sad." Nick's mask seemed to cry for a moment as he remembered that he was still a virgin as well.

"Who cares? They're Cross Guard! You hate them!" Winny yelled. The Cross Guard members sweat dropped and looked at each other. The rooks were frowning and cursing at their look for getting those two as commanding officers.

"They're still human!" Nick yelled.

A young lady and a boy stepped out of the crowd. "Enough." The lady said. Nick turned around and his mask started scowling.

"Emily… and David." Nick's mask was starting to curse. "Now that I know _your _both here, I want to focus on you two exclusively." Nick said. "Andarta! Take David, Emily, and me to the top of that mountain over there." Nick and the two Cross Guard members faded away, and the other two forces stared at each other.

"Weapon ÄRM: Rose Rapier!" Winny summoned her sword. "Attack!"

---

"Two on one? You think you can handle us Nick-teme?" Emily said as she took off her jacket, showing her tank top. David took a battle stance next to her.

"Oh don't worry about my safety, worry about your own. Or better yet, the safety of your friends." Nick nodded over to the battle ensuing below.

"Well, I think you should worry about fighting yours." Nick's mask looked shocked for a moment, before Emily raised her hand. "Guardian ÄRM: Robert-kun! Come forth!" From a dimensional hole in the mountain, a short messy brown haired boy jumped out, he was dressed in a blue shirt and baggy pants, and had a halberd in his hand.

"You bitch! You turned them into ÄRM'S!" Nick's mask yelled, it cracked in two and fell off his face, Robert looked confused until he finally stepped forward.

"Nick-san?" Robert asked. Nick's eyes flared up.

"Rob… is… Kira and Samantha with you?" Nick asked carefully.

"Yes, we talk to each other all the time using Emily-san's mental link to us." Robert nodded.

"Tell them I said hi when you get back." Nick started to sob. "God I missed you guys."

"Don't get too choked up, as long as her Darkness ÄRM still holds on me, I'm powerless to go against my user's will." Robert then started to run forward, spinning the halberd in his hands.

"Weapon ÄRM: Dream Staff!" The staff appeared in Nick's hand and he extended it to block the attack without even moving. He held his hand up. "Guardian ÄRM: Dozing Kitsune!" Robert jumped back and watched as a small nine-tailed fox appeared in front of Nick, it yawned and stretched for a moment as it stared at Robert with wide eyes. **(A/N: Must…resist…the cuteness!) **It looked to Nick and he shook his head. He pointed to Emily and David and the fox nodded back to him. The fox then jumped over Nick's head and perched itself right around his neck, it yawned again and went to sleep instantly. Without warning, it's nine tailed grew and seemed to sharpen over Nick's head.

"Don't remember than ÄRM." Rob muttered as he twirled his halberd. "But I still see the Dream Staff hasn't broken yet."

"I take good care of the thing." Nick said as he charged, Rob jumped to the side and attacked Nick, one of the tails of the fox came down and blocked the halberd. Another tail extended and tried to stab Rob, but he jumped back and cursed himself. Nick took the opportunity to run for Emily with his staff. Instead, David got in front of him and blocked the assault with his sword. The fox's tails dove for David and the boy barely had time to dodge them all.

"Guardian ÄRM: Catherine-chan!" David yelled as the ring on his finger glowed. Before him, a ten-year-old girl stood with a one tailed fox sleeping on her neck, and a small angel following her. Nick's eyes started to tear up as he resisted the urge to hug the girl.

"Catherine-chan! I missed you!" But the girl didn't respond verbally, instead she ran up to him and attempted to punch him, followed by the fox on her neck attacking him, he blocked the attacks and leg sweeped her. She hit the ground hard and Nick jumped over her. David attempted to stop him again, but this time got kicked in the face. He charged Emily who returned Rob to ÄRM form.

"Guardian ÄRM: Kira-hime!" She yelled. Nick stopped and fell to the ground. From the ÄRM, a 14-year-old girl appeared in front of Nick. She glowed an angelic white as her long brown hair lay down the arch of her back. She had a white robe on that was the definition of modesty and had a translucent shield in her hand. Her eyes were a light brown and complemented the few freckles on her face and her slight smile.

"Hello Nick-kun." She said kindly. Nick backed up a little without getting up.

"No way… nooooo way… no fucking way."

"Don't cuss!" She slapped Nick across the face and crossed her arms.

"Kira-hime… please move." Nick asked.

"I can't."

"Try." Nick got up and backed up again. "I can't miss and hit you."

"It's ok Nicky-kun." Kira put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm stronger than I look." Nick bit his lip and jumped over Kira.

"I'LL KILL YOU IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!" He yelled. Kira shot in front of him and blocked his staff with her hand. _'Damn it my staff isn't at full power with all the ÄRM I've been using.'_

"Ugg." Kira moaned. "If I see you again afterwards, you owe me dinner." She joked.

"If I see you afterwards." Nick started. "I'll make sure I get a kiss this time."

"Don't bet on it." She smirked. Kira threw the staff away and it returned to ÄRM form. Both of them turned to fighting stances and Nick put his Guardian back to its original form. "So anyways, when did you join the Chess?"

Nick played with his knight earring. "A little after Emily got rid of you. If I had known you guys were ÄRM, I probably would have taken you with me."

Nick spun and kicked Kira. She grabbed his foot and flung him into the air. Nick recovered and landed on his feet. He charged and attacked with a punch, Kira low blocked it and delivered an elbow, which Nick ducked and palm handed her in the stomach. Sending her reeling and clutching the impact spot.

"You can't beat me hand to hand." Nick smirked. "And as much as I hate to, I will fight you if I have to."

"Rob-kun said you didn't want to fight him." Kira smiled. "Are you giving me special treatment again?"

"I'm Chess now, I shouldn't love if I'm going to get revenge. So I have to push you out of my mind. Or obtain your ÄRM." Nick raised his fist. "So c'mon my love."

Kira flushed and charged him with the shield, she spun it in mid-air (Nick guessed it was only staying within a certain radius of her wrist.) And swiped at Nick. Nick backed up and used his index and middle finger to tap the veins in her wrist. She staggered and looked at the limp limb. She almost immediately regained control over it.

"That's enough." Emily called out. Kira smiled and waved to Nick, who frowned at her return to Emily's hand.

"I'm tired of playing. I'm putting this volcano to good use." Nick raised his hand.

'_Volcano?_' David and Emily both panicked.

"Nature ÄRM: Fantasia!" (**A/N: You'll get it in a second)** From Nick's wrist a small wooden wand came into his hand. He smirked and waved it over to peak of the mountain a few feet away. Immediately, the mountain erupted and lava oozed over to them. Nick made a small circle around himself and the lava seemed to avoid the circle entirely. David and Emily started yelling as they tried to out-run the lava. But David already got caught in it and was melting slowly.

"AHHHHHH!" He screamed. Nick's head perked up and he ran over to David, using his wand to clear a path. He grabbed David's hand.

"I'm so sorry." He said. "_Catherine-chan._" He pulled the ring off and David disappeared into the lava.

"You asshole!" Emily jumped over the lava and landed next to him. She threw a punch but Nick spun around her and broke her arm in a single tug. He put the ring on his right hand and kicked Emily in the face. She fell to the ground and cursed herself.

"And now for you."

"One more step and I send Kira-hime to her grave!" She yelled as she took the ring off and put it over the lava. Nick froze and Emily smirked at the tactic's success. "You were lying, you don't want to forget her. You just joined the Chess to find her. Didn't you?"

"You were the cause of all this, if told you I'll kill you, and I mean it." Nick changed the subject. "_Painfully._" Emily shuddered.

"WHEEE!" A small blue ball of light shot over to Emily it formed into a small girl and the girl took the ring. Nick waved his wand and the girl landed in a ballet pose on the spot of burned land. "Winny-chan at your service!" She said. She touched her necklace and frowned. "Darkness ÄRM: Soul Chamber." She said. The necklace flared up and Emily's eyes went blank. Her body slumped forward even though she was still standing.

"Thank you Winny-chan." Nick said with a smile. He held up Emily's hand and took two ÄRM from her hand. He then slid the ÄRM on his right hand and tightened his grip on Emily. He swung her around and threw her over the lava. "Now!" Emily released the soul and Emily woke up over the lava. "Die!" He waved the wand upward and a pillar of lava went to receive her.

And when it was all said and done. Neither of their bones remained.

---

Nick took off his mask. "May I have Kira-hime, Winny-chan?" He asked. She slid the ring on his finger and smiled. He stared at the ring for a moment. It was engraved with a heart with a halo over it. _'It suits her'_ He thought.

"I'm happy you found them Nicky-kun." She said with a smile. Then her eyes widened, she noticed that Nick had his arms wrapped around her waist, his head rested awkwardly in the crook of her neck. And he was crying.

"Thank you so much Winny." He sobbed. She returned the hug and smiled oddly. She patted his back as a sign to let go, but he wouldn't. "Thank you."

"Hey let go Nick-dodo!" She yelled. Nick apologized and let go. He thanked her one last time and before he left, gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Now I just gotta find a Holy ÄRM to put these guys back!" He cheered as he ran down the hall. Winny blushed and held her cheek, then realized how she looked and took it off in disgust.

'_Stupid bastard, he's just happy to gave his precious Kira back.'_ Winny pouted. _'Wait, am I jealous?'_ She started waving her arms around and yelling at herself. Trying to convince herself otherwise. She walked into her room and slammed the door. "STUPID IDIOT!" She yelled.

---

"Kira-hime." He said. The girl appeared in front of him as he lay on his bed. She blushed for a moment when she realized where she was.

"Oh fuck it." She finally said. She jumped on the bed and hugged Nick tightly around the neck. "I missed you too Nicky-kun!"

"God I love you." He said as he whipped around to face Kira. He stared in her eyes for a moment, and then kissed her on the cheek. "But let me guess, no real kiss this time ri-?" Kira pressed her face against his. He blushed as he kissed her but gave in to the surreal moment. After a while they moved away and smiled at each other.

"I'm tired so I can't sustain the ÄRM for long. But I promise you I'll find a Holy ÄRM to put you back." Nick said as he caressed the side of her face.

"Ok Nicky-kun." She gave him a quick kiss and waved to him.

"Bye Kira-hime." He said with a smile as she turned back into the ring.

'_Maybe the Queen knows of such an ÄRM…' _Nick thought to himself. _'Oh well, one step at a time… I need some sleep first.'_ He said as he closed his eyes, slowly, and very gladly, slipping into sleep.

---

**A/N: If you're slightly confused, remember there are two more stories to this trilogy of sorts, a prequel and then a sequel to this one. The prequel will go back into the roots of Kira and Nick and explain some things if you're in the dark.**

**Anyways, for some reason, even though the original thing was to pair Kira and Nick up, the ultimate test of love so to speak. I like the WinnyNick thing. (Nick IS an OC ok? Just because we have the same name and similar physical appearance, does not mean I didn't change his personality.) I don't know though, it would fit into my sequel idea if I paired either of them up. Damn, someone give me an opinion.**

**By the way, someone who read the story IMed me today. It really brightened my otherwise craptastic day to actually talk to a fan in real time. So thank MarHeavenAngel for motivating me to update before I turned in tonight!**


	4. Chapter 4

Winny sweatdropped and sighed. She had walked in about ten minutes ago in the hopes of waking Nick up for a game of Chess. When she entered she found Nick glomping his pillow and making exorcism noises.

"Thank you Tim-san… I love pie…" Nick mumbled through the pillow. The short sentence came out like a gargle and Winny finally walked over to check if Nick was all right.

"Hey Nick-kun." Winny said. Nick didn't stir. "Nick-san?" Nick mumbled something about panties and turned over. "HEY BASTARD-SAMA!" She yelled. Nick's eyes fluttered and then he shut them hard before he woke up.

"Hi Aislinn-chan…" He mumbled, rubbing his eyes. He let go on the pillow and lay on his back. Keeping his eyes closed.

"Aislinn-chan?" Winny fumed. "Do you have another girlfriend I don't know about?"

"Oh, sorry. Aislinn-chan's the only one who calls me Bastard-sama…" Nick turned over. "So whom am I talking to?"

"Open your eyes and find out…" Winny sighed.

"Too tired." Nick grumbled.

"Phantom-san wanted to speak with you." She lied. No one could tell Phantom no.

"Five more min-" Nick grumbled. "Five more hours." Winny's jaw dropped to the floor and she smacked Nick on the head. He rubbed the lump she left tenderly and still refused to open his eyes.

"Get up lazyass!" She yelled. Nick shook his head.

"Leave me alone mysterious voice-san." He said nonchalantly as he flipped over and slept on his stomach. Winny's eyes flared up and she had the urge to stick him with her Rose Rapier.

"IT'S WINNY-CHAN!" She yelled. "GET UP AND TALK TO YOUR PARTNER DAMN IT!" Nick's eyes shot open and he looked at Winny sleepily for a moment.

"Oh it's you Peanut-chan." Winny hit him over the head again.

"I thought you stopped calling me that!" She yelled.

"I'm not in a respectful mood right now." Nick buried his head in the pillow.

"I'll get Peta in here." She threatened.

"What makes you think he cares?" Nick retorted.

"I'll get Rapunzel." She said angrily.

"She doesn't find me ugly enough." Nick lied. He actually hadn't shown his face to anyone in the Chess but Phantom, Peta and Winny. So Rapunzel accused him of being ugly and hiding it.

"But _Nicky-kun_! I wanna play Chess with you!" She turned to begging.

"You're better off trying to seduce me." He said. She sweat dropped and started cursing at the red head.

"Would you like me to?" She finally said after going through some deep breathing exercises.

"I wouldn't mind it." Nick flipped around and scratched his nose. His eyes were still closed and Winny's vein bulged.

'_I said I'm going to seduce him and he's not even gonna look at me?'_ Winny screamed in her head. _'At least he's not in his boxers'_ She giggled. _'Wait, why does the thought of him in his boxers make me giggle. What the fuck is wrong with me? Get yourself together Winny! He's just in his normal clothes!'_

"You still there?" Nick asked. Winny crashed to the ground and she said yes. Nick smirked and laughed. "My sixth sense is good enough that I can see you perfectly with my eyes closed, you realize that right?" Winny smacked her forehead as she got up and sighed.

"Are you gonna play chess with me or not?" Winny asked.

"You gonna seduce me or not?" He asked back. She smacked him across the face.

"Winny-chan, it's not nice to smack tired people." A voice came from the door. Winny turned around to see Rolan waving to her.

"He's being perverted." She frowned. She turned around and got an idea. "Hey! Do you want to play chess with me?"

"Oh no! I'm much too horrible at chess!" Rolan rubbed his head and smiled. Then his eyes shot open as Nick opened his eyes and gave him a shush sign.

"Well better you than the per-." Her face reddened for a moment. Then she turned back to see Nick grabbing her butt. She paused for a moment and sweat dropped.

"_Now _I'm a pervert." Nick smiled.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" She smacked Nick in the face and he burst out laughing as he fell back into his pillow.

"Uh… ah… um…" Rolan stumbled. "I'mjustgonnagonowyoutwohavefunbye!" He ran off with a blush on his cheeks.

---

"Checkmate." Nick yawned. Winny's head slumped over. "Wow, you suck at chess more than my sister did."

"Shut up." Winny mumbled. "Oh hey, you know the War Game starts in two days right?"

"Yeah why?" Nick asked.

"Well it's just… do you still want to fight?" Winny asked curiously.

"Yeah." Nick said as he set the pieces up again.

"Why? You found your friends, and I'm sure if you ask the Queen she'll get you an ÄRM that will free them." Winny said. "And don't you want to go back to your world?"

Nick paused for a moment. Then he took a pawn piece and raised it. "Pretend this is the world I lived in." He snapped the pawn in half with his thumb. "_That's_ what I wish I could do to it." Winny froze in place and stared at the sixteen year old. Then Nick raised another pawn. "Now pretend this one is the Cross guard." He balled his hand into a fist and when he opened it the pawn was nothing but dust. "That's what I will do to them."

'_Woah… scary…'_ Winny thought. "No dreams for you to go after? You could die in this war after all."

"Well, I did always want to be a pirate." Winny sweat dropped. "Actually, I do have a dream. I had a friend of mine help me with it. The ÄRM I need for it should be done sometime this year."

"You need an ÄRM for a dream? What is it?" Winny asked.

"You should know me better than that." Nick grinned. "I don't like being the story teller."

"It's just a simple question." Winny grumbled.

---

Nick stared at the full moon from the terrace of the castle. _'At least Phantom-san knows which kingdoms have the nicest lookouts.'_ He smiled. He looked behind him and below the terrace. No one was watching.

"Andarta, take me to Kaldea's grand elder." He whispered. In a blur he was taken to a dark room with torches lighting a center circle. In the circle, an old man with a long green cloak was there.

"Hello Nick-kun." The elder said. "I suspect you are here to ask about your ÄRM's?"

"Yes." Nick replied. He was wearing his mask and cloak, the mask showed nothing but white circles that represented lines that gave Nick the appearance of a specter in the feint light.

"I am happy to tell you that they will be done within the next month." The elder grinned. Nick's mask seemed to go in a state of elation. "We already have your mood ring ÄRM." The elder reached into a hidden pocket and pulled out a flat-faced mood ring with a metal outline on the sides and the inside. It swished back and forth between brown and blue before Nick took it and slid it on his only free finger. It shot to a dark blue and Nick smiled at it.

"Thank you Elder." Nick bowed.

"I hope you realize how big of a deal this is that we did this for you."

"I can tell, you must have spent most of your time in a Gate of Training ÄRM to make some of them." Nick motioned to the elder's graying hair. "Five years worth?"

"_Ten_." The elder laughed. "I'm not that old."

"Regardless I thank you." Nick bowed again. "I will be by to pick up the ÄRM's after the War Games."

"It's a shame you're a Chess Piece."

"The Cross Guard owes me reparations." Nick started as he turned around. "I'm going to make sure I get them."

---

Winny slammed on the door. "Come on damn it! The first round is starting!"

"Let me shave damn it!" Nick yelled from inside the bathroom.

"I know your making out with Kira-teme!" Winny yelled.

"What if I am?" Nick yelled back. "Are you jealous Winny-chan?" Winny's face exploded in a bright red.

"Am not!" She yelled.

"Ow! Damn it Winny! I just cut my chin!" Nick yelled. Winny smacked her forehead. He really was shaving after all. Nick walked out a little while later with a piece of paper on his face. "Let's go." He sighed. Winny giggled and followed him.

---

"Hello Phantom-san." Winny and Nick chorused as Nick took off the paper and put on the mask.

"Hello Winny-chan. Hello Nick-kun." Phantom greeted. Rolan did the same seeing as he was in the vicinity. He then left the two alone, still partly traumatized by Nick's perverted actions a few days ago to Winny.

Nick looked over the current roster. There were 30 Cross Guard members. He analyzed each of their magical powers until he came to the conclusion that he could beat about 90 percent of the group.

"Can I fight this round, Phantom-san?" Nick asked. Phantom looked at him oddly. "I know it's the first round, but I want to make a statement." Phantom nodded.

"Winny-chan, why don't you go as well?" Phantom suggested. Completely afraid of what would happen if she said no, Winny burst down the steps to the arena.

"First Round: 4 on 4, Basic Arena!" Pozun yelled as the arena came up from the ground.

"I'm up." Nick said solemnly as he walked up. He looked the team over, it was him, Winny, some blond girl in her twenties Nick recognized as Loco, and some young kid whose face was covered with a mask. "Yeah, I'm up."

"I want to go then." Gaira said as he stepped up. "A knight in round one means Phantom isn't very confident in his forces I suppose."

"Wrong, I wanted to make a statement by fighting." Nick took off his mask and slid down his hood. "Remember me?" Gaira's jaw dropped and so did half the Cross Guard.

"Our old hero has turned to the Chess!" One of the audience members yelled. Winny arched an eyebrow at the comment and looked to Nick.

"Begin!" Gaira charged Nick. Holding up his hand, he started to call out the name of an ÄRM. But before he finished, blood split from his side and he passed out.

"I win…" Nick smirked. The crowd stared at him with looks of shock and disbelief. _'Gaira underestimated me, anyone of his caliber could have caught the Quick Lance if they were paying attention.'_

"Woah, when did you get that ÄRM?" Winny asked with a wide-eyed look.

"Not to long ago." Nick smiled. "Well? Why don't you go up next?" Winny nodded slowly and walked up to where Nick was standing. He gave her a quick hug and grinned. "Just in case I don't see you after this."

"Oh that makes me feel good." Winny rolled her eyes. Nick smiled again and walked off.

"Guardian ÄRM: Samantha-chan." Nick whispered as he flicked his finger. Behind a pillar, a petite blond girl in a ninja jumpsuit looked over the corner. She fingered the sword on her back carefully and noticed that Nick was walking over to her. She pulled her mask off and tackled Nick to the ground.

"NICK-KUN!" She yelled. Receiving several stares from both crowds. "I MISSED YOU!"

"I know you did Sam-chan." He sighed. "But you'll keep missing me if you continue to crush my lungs." Sam blushed and got off. Nick looked her over; she looked exactly the same as before she got sealed in the ÄRM. The same long blonde hair, the same freckles on her cheeks, the same sparkling smile, the same body (Particularly her chest which Nick looked at with disdain, her being flat would be the turn off for many boys in her lifetime.) The same…everything.

"Sam, listen, I actually have a job for you." Nick whispered into her ears.

"Yes, _master_." Samantha spat out angrily.

"Sorry, I'll fix you soon and then we can hang out whenever, but now I need you to help me." Nick sighed. "I need you to check out the center of MÄR for me."

"The center of MÄR?" Samantha asked. "Do you have enough power for me to go that far?"

"I'm stronger than I look." Nick retorted. "Please check it out for me, when you get there, you should find some kind of circle of stone structures. Tell me if it's still standing."

"Ok, Nick-teme." Samantha stuck her tongue out and jumped over the castle wall.

'_I'm glad I met the Elder when I did.'_ Nick thought. _'Otherwise the real reason behind Stonehenge would have never come to me.'_

**A/N: An idea about Stonehenge came to me before I finished up the chapter, it's a wonderful idea, and it might force me to make more than one sequel to this story (It was originally going to have one sequel and a prequel.) You'll get it when I explain it, at the end of the story. Which is like, many chapters from now, so you'll probably forget about Stonehenge by then… OH WELL! It's a good idea.**


	5. Chapter 5

"OW!" Winny yelped as Nick applied the cream.

"Damn it, stop twitching." Nick commanded as he put a bandage on the shallow wound.

"I can't believe that wimp managed to cut me." Winny cursed.

"If you weren't so egotistical and used your Rose Rapier you would have won." Nick scolded.

"I didn't want to reveal my ÄRM's so early." Winny said.

"All you did was punch and kick him though." Nick patted her head. "I'm proud of you, but couldn't you have at least used your Spectral Sphere?" Nick frowned.

"Don't talk to me like you're my father." Winny glared at him.

"Heh, I can't help it if I look like your father Winny-chan." Nick grinned.

"You look nothing like me!"

"I'm just that tall though!" Nick stood up and made his best heroic pose. Winny sighed and stood up.

"Weirdo." She mumbled. _'If he wasn't so obnoxious I would probably be attracted to him.' _Winny blushed and walked away awkwardly.

"You can't hide it ya' know." Nick called as she left. She stopped and her eyes shot open.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-h-hide what?" She stuttered.

"YOU DIG MY MUCLUAR PHYSIQUE!" He shouted loudly. She sighed and muttered an 'as if' as she left the room. Nick waited a while until he was sure she left. He walked over and locked his door. He opened a window and let Samantha in, she pulled her mask off and her long blond hair fell down in curls.

"Flirting with younger girls again?" Samantha chuckled.

"Naw, she's three years older than me." Nick smiled. "Just don't tell Kira-hime ok?"

"Baby, it's been so long I wouldn't be surprised if she's over you." Samantha teased him.

"Don't do that to me Sam-chan." He sulked quietly.

"Anyways, there are some stone structures left there." She noted. "Three to be exact."

"Three doors left, good." Nick smiled. "Then we'll be able to leave."

Samantha's jaw went slack. "You… you found a way?" She practically screamed.

"I did." Nick smiled. Samantha hugged him and started sobbing.

"Then…maybe… we can find them?" Samantha smiled. Nick nodded.

"I have an ÄRM being made that will use the doors, and it will never break." Nick smiled. "All we need is a lot of magical power, courtesy of you and me and all the others."

"Catherine-chan will be so happy!" Samantha smiled and gave Nick a quick kiss. "Oh sorry, I was just really happy."

"It's ok." Nick put his hand on his head. "I know you are." He then gave a frown. "And when did you stop calling her your little sister?" He said noticing the absence of the honorific.

"We have a silent agreement never to talk to each that way." She laughed.

"Was that a pun?" Nick said with a frown.

"Yeah sorry, she did manage to get across she doesn't like me calling her that though." She frowned. "She hasn't talked since the day you went off on your own like that."

"Damn, I worked so hard to help her with that." Nick frowned. "And she's gone mute again."

"She really missed you ya' know." Samantha frowned back at him. "When you send me back you should talk to her."

"I will." Nick smiled. He let go of her and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "I'll get you guys back to normal soon, ok Sam-chan?" Samantha smiled and hugged him again.

"You're too devoted to your friends…" She mumbled. Nick's hair came over his shoulder and brushed her face.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." He laughed. "Good thing Kira-hime can't see this or she might get jealous."

"She knows I don't like you like that!" Samantha waved her hands around like an idiot. "Your too loud for my taste!"

"You don't have to critique my personality." Nick sighed. "Ok well, tell everyone the good news ok? Except Cat-chan. I want to tell her personally." Samantha mockingly saluted him and smiled.

"Yes sir Nick-kun." She smiled. He raised his hand and she disappeared in a flash of light.

"Your up next." Nick smiled. "Catherine-chan!" In a similar flash of light, a small ten-year-old girl appeared in front of him. She had bleach colored blond hair and slightly pale skin. She wore a plain white kimono that had her skin seem even whiter. A small angel was perched on the head of the one tailed fox on her neck. The girl looked up and smiled awkwardly at Nick.

"Mm." She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. "Mmmmmph." Still, no words came out, she eventually gave up and looked to the ground sadly.

"It's ok Cat-chan." Nick assured her. He sat on his bed and motioned Catherine to sit with him. She climbed into his lap and leaned against him. "I'm proud that you mastered the Guardian Angel." He smiled.

"Mm." Catherine hummed in happiness. She smiled and closed her eyes, letting the beat of Nick's heart soothe her.

"Ya' know, I found a way to go to through the doors." Catherine looked up with a hopeful smile. "The same doors your parents disappeared in." Catherine hugged Nick tightly and nearly knocked him over.

"T-t-t-h-." She stuttered.

"It's ok, you don't have to thank me. I know how hard it is for you to speak." Nick smiled. "But before we go rescue your parents, we have to get you back to normal." Catherine's frown turned into a gleaming smile. She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and smiled. _'God, what's with me and girls all of a sudden? They must all be happy to see me I guess.'_ Nick smiled.

Catherine looked at the knight earring and gasped. She got off his lap and started backing up.

"Sorry Cat-chan, I joined these guys for revenge, I know how much you hate them." Nick frowned. "I understand if you don't want to see me right now." His frown flipped to a toothy grin. Catherine glared at Nick for a moment, and then slowly walked up to him. He patted the spot next to him and she stepped up to it. Plopping herself down, she looked at Nick for a second with a pained expression.

"Errr…" She growled.

"I know," Nick looked at his door. "But don't you worry, I'll leave the Chess as soon as the ÄRM is ready. Then we can leave this world." He rustled up Catherine's hair and smiled. "We'll find your parents, and then we can find our perfect world. One where no one suffers and we can live in peace." Nick frowned. "That's all you and Sam-chan really needed, and I'll help you get it."

"You need it too, Dad." Catherine said quietly. Nick smiled and kissed her head tenderly.

"I know your Dad's out there somewhere, you don't have to think of me as your dad in his absence." Nick smiled. _'I always did want a little girl.'_

"He w-w-w-w." Catherine stuttered.

"Was." Nick helped her.

"-Was, sick." She mumbled. Nick got the meaning. _'Her dad was sick before he left. Samantha told me she didn't know that.'_

"You think he's dead?" Nick frowned. "Can't say I wouldn't think the same thing." He grimaced.

"Sam…" She slowly said. "Said h-h-h-he had, can-can-can-can-." Nick got the meaning and put a finger to her lips.

"I got it. Well, in that case. You could be right." Nick frowned. Catherine followed suit. "Sorry, but you know I'm not one for lying to make people feel better." Catherine leaned against his arm and sighed.

"Dad?" She asked. Nick frowned again.

'_Again with the Dad thing, I feel like I'm replacing her real dad.'_ He sighed. "Yes Cat-chan?"

"C-c-c-c-" She stuttered. She moaned in disgust. "Story?" Nick nodded and picked her up and put her into his lap.

"You wanna hear a story about my world?" Catherine nodded and Nick thought for a moment. "Ok! I got one."

---

Nick woke up that morning to find Catherine gone from his bed. He figured that when he fell asleep he lost the concentration needed to hold the ÄRM. He sighed and stripped down to his boxers. He wrapped a towel around him and walked out of the room. Grabbing his mask as he closed the door.

When he arrived at the baths, he found Rolan running away from a naked Winny. "Winny! The guy's as smart as a block of wood! I'm sure he walked in on accident."

"What the?" Winny ran into a pole and fell to the ground. Rolan walked up to her with his hand covering his eyes.

"Uh… would you like some help Winny-san?" Rolan asked timidly. Winny got up and declined the offer. He walked over to the bath with quiet dignity as all the boys chuckled at the naked girl in front of them.

"Good morning Winny-chan." Nick said happily as she walked by. Winny returned the greeting and walked into the door. Nick then burst out laughing and fell to the floor. "OH MY GOD THAT WAS FUNNY AS HELL!"

"Hello Nick-san." Rolan said as Nick chuckled softly, trying to get up but eventually needing the help of Rolan. "How are you this morning?"

"Good! How about you Rolan-san?" Nick asked thoughtfully.

"I'm feeling wonderful thank you very much!" Rolan smiled goofily. "However, I heard voices coming from your room yesterday and it worried me slightly. I heard a small child."

"That was my uh… 'Kid' of sorts." Nick rubbed the back of his head. "I really don't have time to explain it all. But I assure you nothing bad is happening." Rolan took the Knight at his word and walked happily into the baths, Nick followed suit and immersed himself in the hot air and mist.

---

A few days later…

---

Nick walked forward on the slippery ice. Being careful not to hit a rock and trip. Winny and Rolan watched him with mild amusement as he almost slipped.

"Need some help?" Winny mocked him.

"Shaddup! I'm not good at ice skating!" Nick retorted. After he stepped up, a normal Cross Guard soldier stood to him. Behind the helmet Nick couldn't see much, he brushed off the mild annoyance as what people felt when they looked at him and his mask.

"Fifth Round! First Match: Nick vs. Ian!" Pozun yelled as he raised his hand. "Begin!" Nick shot forward with sudden dexterity. He summoned his Dream Staff and jumped into the air. The Cross Guard soldier summoned a bow and shot several arrows at him in quick succession. Nick flipped in the air and dodged several, slashing one that came dangerously close with his staff.

"Weapon ÄRM: Daimonji!" Nick's five bladed shuriken materialized into his hand. He did one last flip and threw the shuriken at the soldier. It whizzed and sped across the ice, sending chunks of the frozen water into the air. The soldier jumped over the shuriken with difficulty and it returned to Nick. The masked knight landed and charged the soldier with his staff in hand.

The soldier summoned a sword and blocked the attack from Nick. The Quick Lance shot out of Nick's robe and the soldier moved to the side, Nick caught the soldier in time and kicked him in the face, sending him flying back. The soldier caught himself and charged with his sword in hand.

'_Damn it; if I use Fantasia the only thing I can do is make holes, same with Battle Crater. Dozing Kitsune will only lessen my balance and I'll be at a greater disadvantage here. I'll have to use my Darkness ÄRM.'_

"Darkness ÄRM: Primal Urge!" Nick yelled. The soldier stopped for a moment, and then got on all fours, he sniffed around clumsily and started to claw at the ground. Nick walked up nonchalantly and drew his staff back.

A blood-curling howl was heard as the staff came down on the soldier. And the match was over.

---

"Nick-kun?" Winny asked that night. Most of the night had been a celebration, as Winny had defeated one of the more powerful Cross Guard members and Rolan had brought incredible shame to a person known as Alan, even though he didn't win, the match was entertaining to say the least.

"What?" Nick asked from his room.

"Are you ok? I haven't seen you since the matches ended." She opened the door, but it was locked.

"Yeah, remember what I told you about my ÄRM?"

---

_Nick pointed to his face. "But every time I use it I end up looking like an animal more and more, and for longer periods of time."_

---

"Oh that's right." Winny frowned. "But it can't be that bad right?"

"I'll look like this for about two days, so it's not that bad." Nick's sigh was noticeable through the door. Winny tried to open the door again and sighed.

"C'mon! Can't I see?" She whined.

"No." Nick answered plainly.

"Nick-kun? I'm your partner remember? You can't be that reclusive about something like your face!"

"Oh yeah? Watch me." He said plainly.

"Hey you saw me naked several times! I get to see your face!" She retorted.

"Hmm, lemme think about th- NO!" He yelled.

"What if I give you a big kiss?" She said seductively.

"What if I give you the middle finger?" Nick said angrily.

"Stop being like this, Nicky-kun!" Winny fumed. The door shook and she gasped as she saw Nick's face.

"See?" Nick's eyes had become silted and yellow, he had whiskers on his cheeks and had grown cat ears, he had fangs come from his mouth and down to his chin. And his facial hair seemed to get longer, while still unnoticeable due to its light color.

"Oh my god." Winny stared for a moment. Nick started to close the door when she stopped it and walked in. "Nick, you couldn't trust me with that?" She slapped him across the face.

"I just… don't like to show people."

"You don't trust me to still like you?" Winny put her hands to her hips.

"You like me?" He said with an arched eyebrow. Winny blushed and shook her head.

"Not like that!" She half-lied. "You're still a friend though."

"I saw that blush…" Nick smiled. His new appearance made him look like a hungry tiger with his smile but it almost made him look tender in a way. **(A/N: Shows how tender he looks before that ) **

"No you didn't." Winny said.

"Yeah I did, you do like me don't you?" Nick smiled. Winny blushed and shook her head rapidly.

"NO I DON'T!" She screamed.

"Heh, well thanks, that makes me feel better now." Nick kissed her on the head and made sure his fangs didn't gorge her. He led her to the door and kicked her out. "Now leave me alone you busy body." He said harshly with his tongue stuck out. He closed the door and left Winny to question her feelings.

'_Well yeah, I like him a little. But it's not like he likes me back.'_ Winny rationalized. Then she rubbed her head softly. _'Right?'_

**A/N: I know that shows a little WinnyNick, but I actually have a different pairing in mind. I officially decided that I will probably pair Nick with no one.**

**Anyways, I wanted to focus on Catherine and Nick this chapter. It's very important to both their back-stories and history that Catherine thinks of Nick as a 'father'. I know I said the importance of Stonehenge won't come in 'till later, but some of you should have guessed it already. Don't ruin it by posting it in the reviews for some people who haven't guessed it all yet.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ah! That's right my hobby is writing! Sorry I forgot to update in a while (Bet fans of my Naruto fic's are pissed more.)**

**Anyways, last week of school so I've been busy with the dance and the Disneyland trip and such fun activities, but while I was busy not updating, I happened to finish a lot of bridge work for the other two stories in this series, problem is I still have to find a way to get rid of some ÄRM's because in plot for the next story I have in mind Andarta would be so cheap.**

**P.S. SPACE MOUNTAIN R0KZ0R5 Y0U9 50Ckz0RS!**

**---**

The queen stared at Nick's masked figure from the safety of the observation room in the castle. In front of her, a mirror showed her an ice-filled wasteland. She frowned and put an ÄRM on her finger and smiled wickedly.

'_I know what you're trying to do my little soldier.' _She thought to herself. _'But no matter what you think you are capable of, you will ultimately fall.'_

---

Nick frowned, in front of him a tall blond haired man stood with a smiling face. He held a sword in one hand that fell to the ground and dug itself a tiny hole. The leader of the Cross Guard stood in front of him, and from what he had seen, Nick was in trouble. But unlike most people, he was not afraid of Danna, and that was his advantage.

Unfortunately, he never was good at gambling. "I give up." Nick said before Pozun started the match, Pozun stumbled and fell to the ground. Nick sighed and walked off. Winny smacked him over the head and called him a chicken, while the other Knights simply offered him condolences for being smart.

"Why'd you really give up?" Winny asked him. She looked over to see Halloween and Alan battling it out.

"Danna is too powerful for me in a straight fight." Nick whispered into her ear. "I'm about Alan's level, but Halloween wouldn't let me fight him." Nick patted her head. "That and everyone else would be boring so I decided it wasn't worth it.

"You are such a moron Nick-teme." Winny cracked a smile.

"Winny-chan, why are you watching this in person?" Nick asked. Bishops were banned from fighting a few rounds ago.

"Because I _wanted_ to watch you cause mass destruction, but I guess _you_ didn't think you were good enough for half of these people." Winny sighed. Nick's mask gave her a detached look before it looked to a giant hole made in the middle of the arena.

"It's a tie." Nick predicted. Pozun called it as a tie and Nick smiled cockily. "Winny, I won't be fighting anymore, so I'm going to go make something to eat. You want something?"

"You cook?"

---

Nick's omelet slid across the table and stopped a few inches in front of Winny, she stared at the egg dish strangely. Nick pulled off his hot pads and rubbed his un-masked face.

"What's the green stuff?" She asked, looking at the round green vegetables on her dish.

"Green onions, I had a bunch on me when I came here, I'm surprised they're still good." Nick smiled. "They've only been exposed to room temperature for a total time of maybe 30 minutes since I've been here."

"No wonder." Winny mumbled. She bit off a piece of her lunch before Nick whacked her in the forehead with two fingers.

"Use a knife and fork Winny-chan." Nick rubbed his hand on the cloth next to him and Winny took the utensils from Nick with a sigh.

"Yes _dad_." She mocked as she cut a piece off the omelet. Putting it in her mouth, she noticed that the odd spices and foods he coated the omelet with gave it a unique taste that she couldn't resist.

"So? How is it? I think I didn't do th-" He turned around to see Winny devouring the dish, almost taking the dish with it. "Wow." He muttered with a sweat drop falling from his head.

"IT'S SO GOOOOD!" Winny yelled as she held the plate out. "Can I have another?"

"Sorry Winny-chan, I don't have enough eggs." Nick apologized and Winny sighed. "I'm surprised you like it though, I haven't cooked a meal in a year.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Ramen addict…" Winny cocked an eyebrow. "Ah yes, I'll have to explain what that is one day to you." Nick laughed. "That and in this world I found that people can grow delicious vegetables in a day, so I never had to cook."

"Nick-kun?" Winny asked. "Who brought you to this world?"

"Ah, well, I don't really know." Nick admitted. "It was my friend Rob that knows who brought us here, but he never told me who." At that moment, Nick's eyes became glazed over and darkened because of his long hair for a second, making them look a pitch black that frightened Winny. "But I have my suspicions."

"Like?" Winny asked curiously.

"For another day Winny-hime." Nick smiled and patted her head. "Now then, do you want some noodles?"

---

Kira looked at his disdainfully. "Right, and why were you my boyfriend again?"

"Because we said we would break up when I moved." Nick said as he plopped down on the bed. "And I never did move."

"I missed you and all, but I didn't mean for you to take the kiss like that…" Kira said.

Nick raised his hand. "It's ok, I like you and all, but I know you don't like me that much."

"Like? I thought it was love…" Kira huffed.

"Didn't want to seem like I didn't like you anymore." Nick said. "It'd make me seem like an asshole."

Kira looked hurt for a moment, and then sat down next to him. "So… why don't you like me anymore?"

"Could have been the negligence." Nick joked. Kira slapped him on the top of his head and he laughed. "Nah, you know I have a talent."

Kira recited the line. "You have the ability to push anything and everything out of your mind given the time and reason."

"Bingo." Nick raised his hand. "Also I'm a cold blooded demon."

"No your not." Kira sighed. "I swear, why do you say those things about yourself?"

"It's true." Nick sat up from his facedown position.

"Well, I feel a little better that we got this out of the way." Kira smiled. _'Although I still don't like the fact you PUSHED me out of your mind.'_ Kira frowned. _'And I actually still liked you a bit too.'_

"Me too." Nick gave her a quick hug. "I'm gonna call Catherine-chan out for a bit ok?" Kira nodded and disappeared in the light of the ÄRM.

---

Nick stood in front of Phantom. He took his mask off and pulled his hood back. Giving Phantom a subtle look of defiance.

"Nick," Phantom started, leaving out the honorific. "You have been showing less than usual behavior as of late.

"I'm sorry." Nick frowned. "I didn't know I had a behavior code to abide by."

"You haven't given anyone that kind of lip in a long time." Phantom frowned. "But it is not my concern. The reason you are here is because the Queen wants to talk with you." Nick smiled as the pink haired lady walked out from behind Phantom's chair.

"Nick-kun." The woman said tenderly. "We have much to discuss."

"I imagine we do, Queen." Nick said bitterly.

"You've been in contact with Kaldea's elder…"

"He owes me a favor."

"You've been showing tender behavior to some of your new ÄRM's."

"They were gifts."

"From a Cross Guard member you had relations with?"

"I was let into the Chess with your knowledge of my previous alliance."

"It seems you and Winny-chan have a relationship."

"We do not."

"Winny-hime is a very personal nickname."

"It was an insult."

"You do want a little girl don't you?"

"That was the insult." Nick's right foot inched back a little.

"Don't be so hostile. I don't want to fight."

"The ÄRM on your finger is a Darkness ÄRM that destroys all ÄRM within a twenty yard radius." Nick frowned. "At the cost of your free life if you should miss me."

"Good observation, I take it you've seen this ÄRM before?"

"Seen it? I've used it." Nick's staff came into his arm and extended. He did a back flip and landed a few yards away. "You know I can take you with this ÄRM from past twenty yards." The Queen shot forward, her Aeros Staff **(For people who don't know, it looks like a scepter, also I'm not to the Queen's fighting style so I'm making this up as I go.)** in hand, she waved it and air shot out at Nick, he jumped over it and the staff extended to under Diana's chin, he brought it up and Diana caught it. She flung it over her head and Nick flew over her. He raised the staff after it retracted and a magic stone in the middle glowed with a bright green.

"Dream Staff Version 2: Tentacle Rod!" **(A/N: I KNOW THAT SOUNDS WRONG DON'T YELL AT ME!)** The staff extended in it's original form and shot at Diana, she stepped back to dodge it and the staff's end broke an inch above the ground, 8 knives shot at her from the staff and stabbed Diana. She coughed up some blood from under her mask and staggered back. Nick landed a few yards in front of Phantom, who watched in mild amusement from his seat.

"Very good Nick-kun." Phantom said.

"What? Not gonna help your Queen?" Nick asked in an insulting tone.

"If I did, she would kill me for being condensing to her." Phantom smirked.

"Then I guess I'll have to deal with you after I kill her then." Nick summoned Daimonji and threw the giant shuriken at Diana, she jumped over it and suddenly a giant crater put a hole in the floor. Diana fell through it and Nick seized his chance. _'Perfect, now if I keep her down, I can send her to an early grave!'_ Nick closed his eyes. _'How does it feel Diana? For your own Nature ÄRM to be what killed you?'_ Nick jumped over Diana and kicked her in the face, she shot through the wall and another crater appeared on the floor below.

'_He can use Battle Crater so easily now…'_ Diana gasped for air as another kick came into her chest. She clutched it as she fell to the ground. The ground below disappeared and she cursed her opponent under her breath. She smashed into the final floor with a giant crater dug into the ground from both the impact and Nick's ÄRM. Nick landed in front of Diana and smirked.

Nick panted twice and then composed himself. "To think, someone who has the power to summon people from the other world could be defeated by someone who when he first got here couldn't use even a butter churn." Nick chuckled. "I owe you one, you introduced me to a world I never would have learned about in a book, and I have met some wonderful people along the way."

"You always were a special little boy, Nick-kun." Diana coughed. "I was lucky to have grabbed at least you out of the three of your friends."

"The only thing you grabbed was a monster." Nick put his mask on and it frowned to Diana's face. "A monster that takes orders from _nobody_." Nick raised his hand and he disappeared a flash.

'_You bastard…'_ Diana thought before she went unconscious. _'You could have killed me, but you wanted to show me how much of a monster you can be. You want me to destroy this world as well.'_

**A/N: A little short I know, but I revealed that Nick even has a connection with the Queen of the Chess Pieces! I have officially solidified that Nick doesn't like Winny or Kira, and now I have to work on wrapping this story up, should take two or maybe three chapters. Then I'll update my Naruto stories for a little bit. Then I work on the prequel on this (Which should be about the same length as this.)**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Ok school is over now! I'm a little out of it from the party last night (Playing chicken is hell on your neck when the two girls you'll play it with have either muscular legs or a tendency to 'push'/lean to make you go faster.) but that just means I won't be doing anything physical for a while (More video games for me!)**

The elder frowned. "You know that if I do not finish the final ÄRM… Final Dimension could kill everything near you."

"We have no time, I'll take the other nine and you leave the last one, if I return one day, I may pick it up." Nick took a small pouch from the elder's hand and looked at it for a moment with a happy grin.

"The final war games will start tomorrow, I assume you have already guessed the outcome." The elder frowned deeply, deepening the already deep wrinkles on his face.

"It's obvious." Nick said as he raised his hand. "Phantom doesn't have the same amount of physical power Danna has, combine that with Phantom's greater magical power. They will both die." Nick disappeared in a green glow and the elder smiled.

'_We both really did pay a price for your service, didn't we?'_

---

Winny played with her jet-black hair, still contemplating her feelings for the knight three years her junior. She imagined the scenery in which it would happen if she confessed.

---

"_Nick-kun…" She would say, the balcony of the castle would overlook a brilliant sunset._

"_Yes Winny-chan?" He would say, she wanted to believe he would be moderately interested in the conversation in which she wanted him to follow her. But her mind made Nick seem bored and for the most part annoyed._ 'Not far from the truth' Winny interrupted the daydream.

"_I've been thinking about it for a while." She would walk forward a little and gaze him right in his dark brown eyes, he would look at her in slight amusement into her light blue orbs. "And I've finally come to terms about how I feel about you."_

_Nick would smirk at her and stand up straight, making the height difference between them painfully obvious. "I understand Winny-hime." He would say. _Winny sighed almost longingly, then her thoughts trailed to what would most _likely_ happen.

'_Leave me alone.'_ Winny thought, those would be the words he would speak before they even got to the balcony. Winny took her pillow and smashed her head into it, screaming in frustration and anguish. Why did she have to fall for the only guy who treated her like a child?

Nick opened her door quickly, nearly slamming it. Winny sat up suddenly, before she realized how she looked this morning. Her hair was in a tangle and covered her left eye in a knotty mess. She was wearing a tight shirt that had a chibi cat in the middle that barely went over her belly button, she was wearing blue panties that revealed her legs, which she _hadn't_ shaven in a while. She dove under her bed and yelled at Nick to get out.

"No time." He said, she realized that Nick wore different ÄRM's than he usually did. In his arms, a gun was being cradled, the black gun was a pistol with a long barrel, and a long silencer was molded on to the barrel. On the end, a long magazine was on the gun that was at least a foot long. "I'm officially leaving the Chess Pieces, word's already gotten around so I had most of my ÄRM's destroyed in fights. Including Andarta, which means I gotta get out of here with help."

"No way! I'm not helping a traitor!" Winny protested as she squirmed out from under the bed. Nick walked over and grabbed her hand.

"Please help…" Nick took his mask off and threw it to the ground. His hood fell off with it. "I'm tired of living in worlds where I have to lose people." His eyes seemed to turn a lighter brown, the mood ring on his pinky finger turned black and he looked at Winny sadly. "I was stupid enough to let you in my world, which means I have to protect you. Because you're my friend."

"I-I… I don't know what to say…" Winny stuttered. She climbed out of the bed, her mind hatched a plan and she smiled slightly. "You owe me a date after this."

"That's assuming we get out of here. But sure." Nick smiled, he tore off his robe to reveal his standard undershirt and blue pants look. He rushed out the door and instantly yells and screams were heard, he pointed to the side and several quiet shots that only merited more screaming. Nick raised his hand and an ÄRM on his wrist glowed. "Dimension ÄRM: Air Cycle!"

Winny stared, as from the ÄRM, a compact, blue vehicle floated above the air, it had wheels, but they looked like they were hidden by an armor plating, the cycle had one seat that was big enough to hold two people, and at the front, a HUD system that appeared right above the handlebars. Nick jumped on and shot a few more shots in front of him. Winny took the hint and rushed over to him, ignoring her current state of dress. She jumped onto the seat and hooked her arms around Nick's waist. The cycle shot off and they turned a corner sharply. Winny's hair blew violently in the air the cycle was traveling, and by the looks of it, they were traveling it pretty fast. She looked to the side to see doors shoot by in a blur and pawns chasing them in vain.

"Pretty fast isn't it?" Nick said over the near silent hum of the engine. Winny nodded and looked past Nick to see they were going up stairs. She remembered the stairs from her daydream, and it finally hit her.

"We're not gonna, go off the balcony… are we?" She asked. Nick's smile turned wicked as her stomped on a pedal and leaped over the last flight of stairs. They stopped in front of the balcony, Winny looked over to see Phantom, Diana, and several knights awaiting them. Nick's eyes turned into a black pool and he pressed a few buttons that floating in front of him. They disappeared and the cycle made a humming noise. Nick pressed a button on his right handle bar and pressed a pedal by his other foot. The cycle shot forward and Nick shot Phantom in the head, diverting attention away from him as flames came from the end of the cycle, they ran over a knight, which Nick later identified as Rolan and took off the balcony railing as they flew over the town. Winny screamed as they quickly dropped to the surface. Nick turned around and smiled softly at her. He mouthed something that Winny couldn't translate and pressed another button. The cycle shot out of the city and they stopped their decent a few feet above grassy plains. The cycle spun for a second and started to run in another direction.

---

Winny's eyes shot open finally to see Nick carrying her to three stone structures; she looked at him with a smile.

"Hi Nick-kun…" She muttered. She felt tired and drained. Nick smiled at her but stayed silent. He set her down and kissed her on the forehead, his little signification that he was happy she was with him. He looked at the doors and narrowed his eyes. The guardian ÄRM's on his hand glowed as well as a new necklace ÄRM that replaces the Healing Angel that Winny knew was there.

"I will now free you." Nick muttered, the ÄRM on his neck glowed stronger. "Holy ÄRM: Release!" The guardian ÄRM's of his friends broke and four figures glowed in front of them. The light died down to show Nick's friends grinning at him, two years older than they looked last time Winny saw any of them.

"I'm glad you did it." Winny smiled sleepily. "Nicky…k..u…n" Winny's eyes shut and she fell back into sleep.

---

Nick chuckled, his friends stood in front of him. All their ÄRM's gone from their fingers, and their clothes with them. While the girls covered up with their hands, Robert made a heroic pose and laughed triumphantly.

"I am free! No ÄRM can bond me to a life of servitude!" He yelled. Kira punched him in the face and cursed her naked form.

"Sorry you guys, I didn't know that you would come out bare." Nick rubbed the back of his head. "Glad to see you all look the age you should." Nick smiled. "I was afraid you'd be stuck at a certain age."

"That's ok Nick-kun, but could you maybe get us some clothes…" Samantha's face was covered by incredibly long hair, but Nick could see her 'Do-What-I-Say-Or-I'll-Kill-You' look.

---

Nick looked in the bag of ÄRM's and smiled. It was now empty and his friends were putting on their new weapons and clothing. He frowned at the lack of the mood ring on his pinky and sighed. _'I always wore that ring, through everything, now I'm passing it on to a girl who thinks of me as her father.'_ Nick smiled. _'I guess that's what my nanna would want me to do.' _Nick finished putting his belt on his new black pants. (Because his old ones ripped from the escape.)

Catherine tugged at her skirt indignantly as she walked out of the bathroom. "Nick-san?" She asked timidly. She was now wearing a blue wool sweater and a small skirt that Nick stole off a random girl walking down a wrong alley, it was just barely her size and left room for her to grow into it. Her hair had grown a little longer, and now went past the arch of her back. She sported a mood ring on her right index finger and it was glowing blue.

"You look great Catherine-chan." He said, he picked her up and lifted her onto his shoulders. "Now let's pick you up so no one steps on you." He teased her. Catherine patted him slightly on the head and stuck her tongue out at him.

"This is breezy!" Samantha said as she jumped out of the bathroom. She wore long black pants that went over her matching shoes. She opened her brown leather jacket to reveal her pink bra that she wore under it. Nick looked for a moment and noticed she actually grew a cup size. She had cut her hair in the bathroom and it now barely went over her shoulders.

"Not in front of your sister…" Nick sighed.

"Oh… sorry Catherine." She muttered as she buttoned the jacket up. Kira walked out shortly after in a red shirt that tightly hugged her curves and faded blue jeans that Nick had lying around his room before his escape. She smiled awkwardly and waved to Nick. He smiled back and complimented her on how she looked. Nick sighed and knocked on the door to the other bathroom.

"Rob-teme!" He yelled. "C'mon! The only one who's not done besides you is Winny-chan and she's sleeping!" Nick looked over to Winny, who was grabbing her pillow and sleeping soundly on her side.

"Done!" Robert walked out, he tilted the straw hat he was wearing and danced a little in his long blue robe. "I look so awesome!"

Nick: "You look like a mage."

Kira: "You look like a loony."

Catherine: "Nick-san? Is he what you call retarded?"

Samantha: "You look like a midget." Everyone laughed at the comment and Robert sulked in the corner. Sobbing something about a video game and a black mage. Nick put Catherine down and walked over to Winny. Nudging her slightly and calling her name, she moaned and turned the other way.

"Winny-chan." He sighed. She moaned again.

"Lemme alone." She said sleepily.

"You need to get into some appropriate clothes." Nick sighed.

"Nicky-kun…" She moaned again, Nick arched an eyebrow and nudged her again.

"Are you dreaming about me?" He asked carefully.

"Eh?" She said, she opened her eyes to see Nick staring her in the face. She panicked and fell out of her bed. "DAMN IT!" She yelled as she rubbed the back of her head.

---

Winny walked out of the bathroom, she smiled as everyone eyed her in the tight pink shirt she was wearing, it barely went over her belly button and made her short brown pants flare out. Nick smiled, "Am I a great gift giver or what?" He complimented himself.

"Yeah you are!" Winny grinned widely and danced a little. Nick smiled again and arched his eyebrow.

"So what were you dreaming about?" Nick asked happily. Winny blushed a deep crimson and started stuttering as she walked away.

"N-n-n-nothing!" She yelled. Nick opened his mouth to tease her but the inn they were at started to shake. Nick turned around to see the wall on the side of their room get ripped off by a powerful gust of wind. Nick's gun materialized into his arm and he cursed at the wall.

"I knew we'd take too long! Everybody get out of here!" Nick yelled. The others did as they said, but Winny stayed with him, her Rose Rapier in hand. "What are you doing, Winny-chan?"

"You're going to take on the Queen, I know that kind of powerful wind anywhere." Winny looked at him with a frown. "I'm staying with you."

"I can handle her, go on." Nick put the gun to his side and stared at her angrily. Winny put the sword in the ground and turned to face him.

"Screw you Nick-teme." She said plainly. "You're my friend too, which means even if you don't want me too, I'm going to protect you." Nick smiled slightly and then faced the place the wall once was to see Phantom and Diana staring at both of them.

'_Whoops, they're both here, maybe I will need her help.' _Nick thought.

"If you want to admit it, now's the time." Nick said. Winny blushed and looked at him. "Assuming isn't in my nature, but it's pretty obvious when you're whispering my name in your sleep."

"Nick-kun… I…"

"Five seconds." Nick raised his gun and pointed at Phantom, a red laser put a dot on his head and Phantom smiled.

"I…"

"_Four._" Nick cocked the gun back.

"I…l-"

"_THREE_..."

"Stop rushing me!" Winny yelled.

"_TWO_ WINNY-CHAN!" He yelled. Magical power poured out from the Chess Pieces' and Nick looked at Winny for a second.

"I LOVE YOU OK!?" Winny yelled. Nick rushed forward and fired off several shots at Phantom, the knight dodged a few before getting hit in the shoulder and reeling back. Nick threw the gun up and delivered a jump front kick to Phantom's pale face. Diana pulled her scepter back and hit Nick in the arm with it. "OVER HERE!" Winny yelled. She stabbed Diana's arm through with her rapier and Diana screamed in pain. She whipped around and kicked the ex-bishop in the face. She flew back and hit a chair. She turned into a ball of light and shot over Phantom's head, she sliced Phantom's arm and then caught Nick and threw him over her head, the red head spun around and landed on his feet. Phantom's arm turned into a giant spike and he stabbed it at Winny **(That be Babbo if you don't know.)**, she dodged it easily and landed on the floor. Nick shot Phantom's arm and the bullet ricocheted into the ex-knights leg. He gritted his teeth and ran to Phantom, ignoring the pain. Diana got in front of him and jabbed him with the staff. Sending him reeling in more pain, Nick stumbled and looked up at the Queen, the color in his eyes disappeared and magical power literally exploded from the body. Phantom nonchalantly looked over him and smirked. Nick raised his hand and his new bracelet glowed.

"Dimensio-!" Phantom shot forward, his spike aimed at Nick's chest. He pushed more magical energy into the ÄRM and it glowed brighter.

"NICK!" Winny screamed. She turned into a ball of light and shot in front of Nick.

"FINAL DIMENSI-!" Nick yelled. Blood splattered on the floor and Phantom's jaw went slack. Nick's colorless eyes burst into tears and he fell to his knees, his bracelet dimmed and his gun turned back into a ring. "No…"

"You…better…kill them." Winny coughed up blood as the spike came out of her gut.

"No…" Nick said again. "Noooooo…" Nick's hair started to fly all around as red magical energy shot from his body and circled the room. "NO!"

"Nicky-kun…" Winny fell to the floor and breathed heavily for a moment. Then her chest stopped moving and Nick glared at Phantom.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" He rushed forward, no gun, no plan. Just blind hatred and resolve, and when he yelled that, Kira and Rob felt the pain of their friend from the safety of the forest a few miles away.

---

"Oh god… he'll kill everything in the town." Kira muttered.

---

**A/N: YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING DID YA?! DID YA?! Oh well, I'm getting some video games this and next week for my Mac so I'll be busy playing those, so don't be surprised if my updates are later.**


	8. Chapter 8 ENDING

**A/N: Hardcore fight scene baby!**

---

Nick vanished and chopped Phantom's neck, he fell forward and Nick caught his body with his arms. He spun around and swung him in the direction of Diana, he rammed into her and they both crashed out of the building. Nick jumped sideways and faced them as they fell slowly to the ground. Nick shot to the ground and jumped off it again, he caught Diana and Phantom by their respective necks and did several flips in the air before smashing their limp bodies on the dirt ground. They rebounded and Nick pulled his gun out and aimed at Phantom. _'He killed her, so I'll kill him as many times as it takes to send him to hell!'_ He fired. He fired again, he left so many holes in Phantom's head by the time he hit the ground the Diana was sure he would have brain damage. He stared in a blind fury at the limp bodies in front of him. _'I won't give them a chance to recover!' _Nick ran ahead and jumped into the air, he slammed into Phantom's chest and fired several shots, blood splattered into the air, it covered Nick's body and face as he fired, until all that was left of his 60 shot magazine was spent. He called the ÄRM back and looked at Diana disdainfully.

"Impressive, that many deaths will keep Phantom down for a few hours." Diana slowly got up, her scepter appeared in her hand and she shakily assumed a fighting stance. "But you can't ever kill him, and you know you can't kill me."

"I can try…" Nick said. He assumed a stance where his right foot and left foot were parallel to each other and facing to the left. He stared Diana down as he turned sideways and his hands were brought up and were slack.

"Martial arts?" Diana arched an eyebrow. "I must say you must be over-confidant or stupid."

"_Enough._" Nick tone froze Diana's blood. Nick ran forward with his arms still in front of him, Diana threw a wind blade at him but he jumped over it and did a spin, he got above Diana and kicked her in the head. She fell to the ground and quickly jumped up. She hit Nick in the arm with her ÄRM and he staggered for a moment. _'Of course I'm still a little drunk from the beers I had a little while ago.'_ Nick sighed. He spun around and attempted to kick Diana in the head, she caught it and Nick jumped up, he spun again and this one connected, sending her into another building.

"So you are good." Diana said as she flipped in the air and kicked off the building, she spun her weapon in a circle. _'Damn, that kids making sure to keep me so concentrated on blocking his hits and countering that I can't use any other ÄRM's than this.'_

"This is how good I can be when I'm drunk." Nick said. He dodged the counter and grabbed Diana by the neck. He flipped and rammed her head into the ground, he let go and grabbed her legs, and by lying on the ground, he tore her out of the hole and slammed her into the ground beside him. She shakily got up and eyed the red head.

"You've improved…so much." Diana coughed. Nick's eyes regained their color and he got up to look her eye level.

"Diana," Nick looked at her. "You know why I hate my old world. You know why I hate this world. You know every secret, every desire, every god damn little quirk about me." Nick's eyes retained some sadness until he shook his head. "I thought you were a good person, I honestly did."

"Don't give me that speech." Diana spat out. Before she could blink, Nick had her by the neck. He spat on her dress and his eyes returned to a blank, colorless stare.

"This is not the woman I called a friend." Nick said to himself. "This is not the woman that could silence my pain with a single word."

"Are you going to kill me Nick-kun?" Diana asked timidly. Nick's eyes narrowed and his lips formed a wicked smile.

"No… but I'll make you wish I did." Nick's eyes popped open and magical power overflowed the ÄRM's on Diana's fingers, they snapped in half and fell to the ground. Diana struggled to get free and Nick remedied this by simply tightening his grip. "Would you like me to leave you with many bruises?" Nick's smile was sadistic and his eyes reflected the light all around him. "Or just one sickening scar?"

---

Winny's eyes fluttered open, he looked to see a kind looking old lady healing her with an ÄRM. When the old lady realized she was awake she yelled something and ran off.

'_Get out?'_ Winny thought. _'OH NO! NICK!'_ She sat up and clutched her stomach in pain. She crawled over to the broken wall to see Nick holding Diana against a wall and punching her in the face repeatedly. She saw the blank look in his face from the angle she was watching and her heart sank. She caught her breath. "Nick!"

---

Nick looked over to see Winny crawling slowly out of the wall. He panicked and turned to Diana. "Take your puppet and get out of here." He threw her down as she bled from her cheek. "Wench." He ran over to Winny and caught her as she accidentally fell off the ledge. Diana coughed and grabbed Phantom, using an ÄRM in her pocket, they both transported in a green light.

---

"Nicky-kun." Winny smiled as Nick raised her by the head.

"How are you alive?" Nick asked. His eyes were watering and color was slowly returning to them.

"The inn owner evacuated everyone and healed me." Winny tried to get up but her body wouldn't move. "She didn't finish the job though."

"I was afraid I had let you die." Tears started to flow out of Nick's eyes. Winny rolled her eyes.

"Since when do you cry?" She asked. Nick chuckled and wiped the tears away.

"When nobody's looking most of the time." Winny frowned at this.

"Why?"

"Winny-chan." Nick looked at her. "Don't you ever assume that saving my life is more important than you keeping your own." Nick lifted her head and held it to his chest for a moment, and then he lifted her bridal style and started walking out of the town. "Let's go find everyone else."

Winny sighed mentally. _'Even if you're as hard as a rock sometimes, I'll still love you.'_ She opened her mouth, but the words would not come out. She sighed again. _'Even though you don't love me back.'_

---

"Ok guys." Nick yelled, everyone got dressed slowly and listened to his plan. "The Chess will probably try to catch us before we make the jump to the other world." Winny's ears perked up at this and she listened intently. "Which means we all have to use our ÄRM's to get the hell out of here." Rob and Samantha nodded.

"Kira-chan, you get on the board with Sam-chan." Samantha raised her hand and a long metal skateboard without wheels appeared below her, she was hovering above the ground and Kira held onto Samantha's waist as she got on. "Rob-kun, you're solo, but you're also lookout." Rob raised his hand and the Dream Staff (Nick gave it too him.) and white and gray shoes appeared on him. He jumped up and he floated a few feet above the ground. "Winny-chan and Cat-chan. You're with me." Nick's Air Cycle appeared and Catherine sat in Nick's lap while Winny half-jealously wrapped her arms around Nick's waist and rested her head in Nick's back.

"Let's go." Rob leaned forward and he shot off at incredible speeds.

"OYE! I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS WHERE WE'RE GOING!" Nick yelled as his cycle went off at a faster speed.

"Kira-_chan_?!" Samantha yelled as they started off.

"He doesn't like me anymore." Kira said.

"Bastard! Let's kill 'em!" Samantha clenched her fist together as the board zoomed off.

"No it's ok, I don't like him either." Kira smiled.

'_Oh don't kid yourself.'_ Samantha thought. She weaved in between Rob and Nick's vehicles and they all zoomed off.

---

Catherine woke up to the sounds of gunshots. She looked over to Nick, who was firing ahead.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LOOKOUT!" Nick yelled.

"WHO THE HELL MADE AN ÄRM THAT MAKES EXPLODING ROCK CUBES?" Robert jumped into the air and smashed another cube into the ÄRM user. Rolan ran past the cube and jumped up into the air. They collided and Rolan was sent to the ground.

"Sam! Level out!" Kira yelled. Sam tilted back and the board flew into the air and leveled out. "Weapon ÄRM: Demon Bow!" A bow with a giant computer screen on the side appeared in her hand. She pulled an arrow with a box on the end back and the computer gave her a direct target. She let go and the arrow hit the ground next to Rolan. It exploded and Robert flew back past them from the explosion. "Oops! Sorry Rob-kun!"

"Damn it, we're not anywhere near Stonehenge." Nick cursed. Catherine looked at Nick with concern and her kissed her head. "Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"Rose Chain!" Winny yelled. Her Rose Rapier detached itself into several parts and it flew towards several pawns coming at them. The chain impaled all of them in a movement and Winny looked over to Nick. "Nicky-kun! This other world of yours, how are we gonna get there?"

"An ÄRM I have." Nick looked back and then forward, his eyes widened to see a giant cliff. "WHAT THE FU-"

"NO CUSSING!" Kira threw a rock at Nick's head.

"Hold on Winny-cha-!" Nick looked back and Winny was an inch from his face. He blushed and Winny winked at him.

"Don't worry, this thing hovers remember?" She moved back to point that they were floating in the air, Nick chuckled and looked back at her.

"I thought you were going to kiss me." Nick rubbed the back of his head. Catherine looked at Winny with a protective glare.

"Do you want me too?" Winny gave Nick a seductive look.

"Dad, I think she likes you." Nick and Winny sweat dropped. Nick turned around with a laugh and pressed a button, they descended to the ground of the opposite cliff and sped up.

"Dad?" Winny whispered into Nick's ear.

"I'm not really her dad. She just treats me like I am." Winny nodded and then rubbed his side.

"So…do you want me too?" Winny smiled.

"I owe you a date, remember? You can try then." Winny huffed and leaned back.

---

Robert hit the last pawn in the head and released his ÄRM to spin around and land in front of a stone structure.

"We gotta do this now, everyone pool your magical energy into the ÄRM." Nick raised his hand and a ring glowed brightly. Suddenly, a black circle was drawn around the stone structures and the group and everything else disappeared. The group saw themselves looking at three doors.

"Dimension ÄRM: The Key to the Door." Nick said. He put his hand down. "We're safe now, just look at the worlds through the doors and we'll decide where to go."

"That simple?" Samantha asked. Nick nodded and looked at Catherine.

"I'm scared." She said. She held onto Nick's leg and Nick patted her head.

"Don't worry, we'll all be together to protect each other." Nick assured her. "We'll find that world of your dreams one day. Ok?" Catherine nodded and looked at the doors.

The first one showed a desolate desert, where monsters fought and killed for fun. Nick covered Catherine's eyes from the sight and they all looked on to the second one.

The second one showed at great city, where people lived and drove in cars. Nick looked to Rob and Kira as they eyed the door longingly. Nick gave them a nod and they gave him a shake of their heads in return.

The third door showed a world where a great city towered in an island above a lush green planet, ships flew through the sky and people did business and fought in armor and swords. Everyone seemed to pick this world and Nick walked towards the door, Catherine tugged on his arm and Nick looked at her.

"That's your world isn't it?" She asked, pointing at the second door. Nick nodded and kneeled down to her. "Why don't you want to go back?"

"Well, Kira-chan and Robert-kun have different reasons than I do." Nick explained. "But the reason I don't want to go back, is because I wasn't happy there."

"Why?"

"In my world, people judge each other by looks and status, no matter where you go, you would never be safe from ridicule. War plagued our history and negligence of our planet behind it. That was not my ideal world." Nick said. Winny's eyes widened.

'_The reason he wore that mask all the time…'_ Winny looked at him for a second. _'He never wanted to be judged; he just wanted to be himself. He wanted to live behind a mask no one could ever see behind, so they would have to see the person inside of him.'_

"So? We're all going through door number 3." Nick asked. "Right?" Everyone nodded and Nick walked up to the door.

"Dad, what will we do when we get there?" Catherine asked carefully.

"Well, my idea was…" Nick smiled. "WE HAVE A PARTY AND I GET SOME BEER!" He jumped through the door and left everyone with a sweat drop on their faces.

"Some role model." Samantha muttered as she ran through the door. Everyone else followed, leaving Catherine to be the last one looking at the door.

---

"_You only get one life, Catherine-chan."_ She remembered Nick's voice ringing through her head. _"You can't waste it trying to be a hero."_

---

"Then why are you always there for me, just like a hero would be?" Catherine asked. As she walked through the door, memories flashed through her head, of the past, of the present, and ideas of the future. She looked at the green ground she was falling too and the others waiting to catch her. She smiled as she saw Nick waving at her.

They would find their perfect world, she could feel it.

**A/N: OYE! That ending SUCKED! Oh well, I write it as it comes to me…**

**Anyways, I'll start the Prequel: A New Life in maybe a week and a half. I wanna update my Naruto stories first.**

**Everyone review and all that… send me ideas if you got any. And…oh yeah, LOVE ALL THE UNEXPLAINED STUFF THAT MAKES YOU HAVE TO READ THE PREQUEL TO GET HALF OF THIS STUFF!**


	9. PREQUEL LINK

HEY! It's me!

I started the prequel ahead of schedule because I wanted to :P

/s/3610869/1/

Fanfiction doesn't like it when I post links so just put that at the end of the address.


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